SERBOPHOBIA

'Serbophobia', or 'Anti-Serb sentiment', is a term used to describe a sentiment of hostility or hatred towards Serbs or Serbia.

Contents

Use of the term in history

Instances of Serbophobia

Criticism

See also

External links

Use in various languages

Further reading

References

Use of the term in history

The term was used in the literary and cultural circles since before World War I: Croatian writers Antun Gustav Matoš and Miroslav Krleža had casually described some political and cultural figures as "Serbophobes" (Krleža in the 4-volume "Talks with Miroslav Krleža", 1985., edited by Enes Čengić), meaning that they perceived an anti-Serbian animus in a person's behavior.
Acin-Kosta, Milos in his book ''Draza Mihailovic i Ravna Gora'' dedicates a section of his book to Serbophobia during World War II.[1]
In the 1986 draft Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ''Serbophobia'' is mentioned.[2]
Another example of this use of the term in the 1980s was the meeting, which was organized by the Serbian Writers' Association on February 28 1989 and was devoted to the theme of "Serbophobia". The meeting discussed the Croatian genocide of Serbs, including references to the Jasenovac concentration camp.
Cadik Danon, Chief Rabbi of Yugoslavia ''et al.'' in an open letter^[1] to the American Jewish Committee in 1995, during the bombing of the Serb Republic by NATO, wrote of a background of,"... unrestrained anti-Serbian propaganda, raging during all this war, following the Nazi model, but much more efficient means and in a much more sophisticated and more expensive way. ... Even American Jews were not able to withstand this propagandistic poison,... they did not recognize the Nazis and racist nature of the Serbophobic dogma. They did not identify Serbophobia as a twin sister of anti-semitism, ...".

Instances of Serbophobia

According to those who use the term, Serbophobia can range from individual hatred to institutionalised persecution.

★ An example of Serbophobia is the jingle ''Alle Serben müssen sterben'' (All Serbs Must Die), which was popular in Vienna in 1914 ^[2] (also occurring as: ''Serbien muß sterbien'').

★ Other examples of Serbophobia can, according to some , be found in language used to refer to Serbs by other groups in the Balkans. That use of the term "Vlah", as well as the use of the word "Chetnik" as a derogatory designation for anything connected to Serbs (rather than a paramilitary as in its standard meaning) has also occurred in modern times, during and after the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s ([3]. The word ''shkije'' in the Albanian language is a derogatory word for Serbs [4]. The same word has also been used by Croats ([5]). The term "Cigan," meaning Gypsy, is also a popular derogatory word for Serbs among Croats.

★ Serbs are greatly underrepresented in the Croatian civil service in most areas with a significant Serb population. [6]
The International Court of Justice ^[3] in 1997 found genocide had been promoted by

★ a 'Patriotic Song' which read as follows:'Dear mother, I'm going to plant willows, We'll hang Serbs from them. Dear mother, I'm going to sharpen knives, We'll soon fill pits again.'

★ the publishing in a newspaper of, "Each Muslim must name a Serb and take oath to kill him."

★ the radio broadcast of "public calls for the execution of Serbs"

Criticism

Some critics associate the use of the term ''Serbophobia'' with the supposed politics of Serbian victimization of late 1980s and 1990s as described, for example, by Christopher Bennett. According to his critics, Serbian nationalist politicians have made associations to Serbian "martyrdom" in history (from the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 to the genocide during World War II) to justify the supposedly aggressive Serbian politics of the 1980s and 1990s; these associations are allegedly exemplified in Slobodan Milošević's historic speech at Kosovo in 1989. The reaction to the speech as well as the use of the associated term ''Serbophobia'' is a matter of heated debate even today.[7]
According to political scientist David Bruce Macdonald, the term has been popularised in the 1980s and 1990s during the re-analysis of Serbian history.MacDonald, D. B. (2003) The term was often likened to anti-Semitism, and expressed itself as a re-analysis of history where every event that had a negative effect on the Serbs was likened to a "tragedy".MacDonald, D. B. (2003) Often associated with the politics of Serbian victimization of late 1980s and 1990s^[4], the term is used to justify the aggressive Serbian politics of the 1980s and 1990s; these associations are reportedly exemplified in Slobodan Milošević's historic speech at Kosovo in 1989.

See also

★ Srbe na vrbe!

★ List of anti-ethnic and anti-national terms

★ Xenophobia

★ Nationalism

★ Chauvinism

★ Discrimination

External links

★ Cambridge Papers article Victim Chic? The Rhetoric of victimhood including Serbophobia

★ Northern California Jewish Bulletin

★ Mentioned in Library of Congress of USA

Use in various languages

★ ''Neue Serbophilie und alte Serbophobie'', "New Serbophilia and Old Serbophobia", a ''Junge Welt'' article, in German

★ ''Marc Fumaroli'', an article from Lire, a French literary magazine, in French

★ ''Europa e nuovi nazionalismi'', an article by Luca Rastello, in Italian

★ ''Бомбы или гражданская война'', a Sevodnya article, in Russian

★ ''Сатанизација Срба, коме она треба?'', a book by Boris Olijnik, in Serbian

★ 'СПЦ може да предизвика србофобија кај Македонците'', a Nova Makedonija article, in Macedonian

★ ''Ku është antimillosheviqi?'', an AIM article, in Albanian

Further reading

National Library of Serbia's catalogue lists following books written about serbophobia:

★ ''Serbophobia and its sources'': Srbofobija i njeni izvori, , Jeremija D., Mitrović, Naučna knjiga, 1991, (second edition Srbofobija i njeni izvori, , , , Službeni glasnik, 2005, )

★ ''Serbophobia and antisemitism'': Srbofobija i antisemitizam, , Milorad, Ekmedžić, Beli anđeo, 2000,

★ ''On serbophobia through centuries'': O srbofobiji kroz vijekove, , Lazar, Blagojević, Prosvjeta, 2004,

References

1. C. Danon, 'et al': Open letter asking for help from the American Jewish Committee. 1995.
2. Why Yugo-Nostalgists are Wrong Srdja Trifkovic
3. INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE 17 December 1997 Case Concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishmnent of the Crime of Genocide retrieved 26 August 2007
4. Bennett, C. (1999)


★ ''Србофобија и њени извори'', Јеремија Д. Митровић, Издање: Политика и друштво, 1992, ISBN 86-23-03053-2